The Plover Festival was featured in the Denver Post in a list of Colorado birding festivals.

RMBO Plover Meeting

Thanks for all who made connections and cooked for this meeting on Monday. 11meals @ $10 per meal minus expenses will make for a profit of about $70. Attendance seemed slim – it didn’t seem that word got out. Perhaps a shorter version of their presentation can be given at the Plover Festival. There is still a push to list the Mountain Plover as endangered. RMBO is hoping that land owners will get involved by documenting and submitting the presence of plovers on their land.

Sheri will invoice RMBO for this event. Frances moved that we seek reimbursement for those who contributed to this lunch. Sheri seconded. The motion passed.

Astronomy

A high-end laser pointer would be useful for astronomy nights. The Seymours and Taylor Russell own these pointers. Perhaps they could be borrowed from them if the need arises.

RECAP

We received the RECAP report from Darlene Scott.

Photo Contest

The Small Steps Grant monies have been distributed for the year, but the Colorado Council of the Arts recommends that we continue with the photo contest in order to strengthen our future grant applications. The Alliance will continue with the contest using alternate funding.

Tourism Board Funding

Dan attended a Lincoln County Tourism Board meeting. They will gladly pay for the printing of our brochures to advertise the festival. They encouraged us to submit photos for their website so they can promote the festival there.

Treasurer’s Report

Sheri is billing Fish & Wildlife as RAW-related expenses occur. The students are attending training at Chico Basin Ranch on April 12-13. All funding for this is going through the Alliance and then being reimbursed by the grant. A Visa gift card (or similar credit card) will be purchased by the Alliance and given to Fish & Wildlife personnel to pay for food and miscellaneous expenses during that trip.

For this project, Sheri has had to order from a large variety of vendors on her credit card. She will then be reimbursed by the Alliance, but a different method would be better. Maybe the Alliance should have a credit card that can be used for such purchasing situations. Sheri will investigate that idea.

Carl moved and Frances seconded that we file the treasurer’s report as given. The motion passed.

Alumni Mailing

Thanks to Steve and Craig Bailey, Frances, and Mags for getting this mailing out. We already have two memberships as a result of the mailing. Way to go!

Lamar Snow Goose and Monte Vista Crane Festivals

Mark and Mags manned the booth at these festivals. At least 100 pamphlets were handed out in Monte Vista. Good contacts were made and awareness in the birding community was greatly increased. Having the booth manned made a BIG difference. People stopped when someone was standing there to talk to. If no one was standing at the booth, people just glanced at the pictures and walked by.

These events were very successful promotional tools. Contacts were made with Denver, Pueblo, and Colorado Springs Audubon Societies. If they had known about us earlier, they would have brought their groups. We need to contact them much earlier, possibly in the fall, for next year.

Monte Vista has a huge turnout and is an ideal place to advertise.

Alliance Website

Erik Hilton renewed our website for the new year. Frances moved that the Alliance grant Erik a family membership as thanks for his support for the Alliance and pay $75 for the website. Betty Lee seconded. The motion passed.

Festival Tour Charges

To clarify past policy, Lincoln County residents and Alliance members may attend any festival tours for free.

Hemp at the Plover Festival

A company offered to distribute free hemp products at the festival. Dan will continue contact with them to determine if we are a practical market for them. Primarily, we are trying to focus on promoting local products, which hemp currently is not.

Festival Committees

Carl has ordered the shirts, and they should be close to done. He worked with the shirt man to find a true plover for the logo. All of the shirts will be embroidered, because silk screening set-up would cost too much.

Carl looked into a ramp to facilitate disabled tour participants. It won’t work. We have looked into many options here and can’t find one that is feasible. We’ll just have to make sure that people are available to assist as needed.

There are four vendor booths currently reserved. We need more vendors. However, there will be a craft show at the firehouse at the same time as the Plover Festival. Each location will advertise one another.

We will have to discuss the possibility of a tent at the next meeting, once we know what kind of turnout we’ll have.

Susann Mikkelson and Shelia Pelster plan to help Frances with the photo contest.

Event Insurance

Carl got a quote from Gordon Insurance in Limon. Three days of insurance for the Plover Festival: $1,000,000 liability for $347.80 and $500,000 liability for $341.09. Carl will check to make sure that we would be covered during times of transportation and out in the fields. We will vote on this at the next meeting.

Next Meeting

Thursday, April 15 at 7 p.m. That is the last day to register for the festival. All committees will need to report at that meeting.

Lincoln County Advertising

Frances will distribute the schedule at the rummage sale, mail out schedules to school district families, and place it in the paper.

Festival Schedule

The schedule is the same as last year, except Saturday evening dinner will be at 6 p.m. Meal pricing will be the same. 4H will be doing Saturday evening dinner. All other organizations will remain the same.

Membership Drive

Frances has made a list of prior members who have and have not renewed for 2010. We need to be aware of these people to ask for help as we are involved in various projects.

We need to send out notices to those who are not on the Alumni mailing list who have not yet renewed. The Alliance needs a membership secretary.

Advertising

We need banners or signs, particularly on Hwy 71, to let people know what events are occurring in Karval. A big banner could grab people’s attention.

Sheri suggested that we frame a few local wildlife pictures to sell at the festival as a fundraiser. Cherry moved that Sheri put together pictures to sell up to $150 investment. Carl seconded. The motion passed.

We need to find ways to advertise Karval as an ideal community for folks to live.

RAW Training Substitute Pay

Cherry moved that the Alliance pay $150 for the two substitute teachers needed for the school to cover the RAW Train the Trainer event in April. Carl seconded. The motion passed.

Women’s Business Grant?

Some women are interested in opening the Branding Iron. They should be referred to Pat Vice for information on loans and grants. Perhaps an historical grant could be pursued.

Housing

We need one or two houses in this community for larger families. The Alliance needs to explore ways to help promote more/better housing.

Grants

The Alliance needs a grant writer to help us pursue funds for our projects.

501(c)(3)

We have not yet received the official documentation of our non-profit status.